Nereus Program Manager and Research Associate Andrés Cisneros-Montemayor (UBC) presented at the North American Association of Fisheries Economists Forum in La Paz, Mexico, from March 21 to 24, 2017. The conference included forum sessions and paper presentations that followed the theme of “Economics of Aquaculture, Fisheries and Seafood Trade: Managing the Socio-Ecology of Sustainable Marine Resource Use”.

The NAAFE Forum 2017 was hosted by Universidad Autonoma de Baja California Sur in collaboration with the Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine Sciences, the Northwest Centre of Biological Research, and Marista University of Merida. There was a large presence from Latin America, given the conference location, and two competing streams of discourse — alternative livelihoods versus maximization of profits. Key discussions included those around rights-based management, particularly individual transferable quotas (ITQs), and climate change issues and social inequalities.

Cisneros-Montemayor presented four different abstracts in general sessions on a range of topics including fisheries subsidy reform, unreported catch management, and the value of bioeconomic analysis in identifying policy shortfalls. The presentations covered a range of case studies from Mexico as examples of effective small-scale fisheries implementation to fisheries policy surrounding the endangered porpoise — the vaquita.

Detailed descriptions of the presentations can be found here.